a girl with a creative appetite

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Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, if you want keep up to date with my adventures on my Instagram @mariablackstone… I tend to post more regularly on there.

I have been busy with a new job – I am now working as a Graphic Designer for a wine supplier (lucky me), I have been away to Menorca and Belgium and spending the summer enjoying myself, and getting out as much as I can before I go to study in September. I have a wine course to go on next week, and am then starting a graphic design course a few weeks after that. I’m excited to learn lots of new stuff but apprehsive about the battle I will no doubt have with my energy levels.

I also made my first ever wedding cake for a friend round the corner. I did a tasting for them and they chose vanilla and lemon – perfect for the summer. It was decorated simply with roses, berries and herbs from their garden. I was super pleased with the result and was amazing to know that people would enjoy all my hard work and efforts and that I could be a small part of their big day.

If you’d like a cake for your special occasion, please do get in touch and I can discuss options and prices with you.

Use the best of the summer’s tomatoes in this delicious, herby tomato salad. I served mine with lamb fillet marinated in garlic, rosemary & lemon & some buttered new potatoes. But it’s perfect on it’s own, served with some crusty fresh bread to mop up the juices. The perfect simple supper.

Ingredients

One or two large tomatoes

A handful of cherry tomatoes ( I used red & yellow from my mum’s garden)

Here is an easy and naughty treat to enjoy over the Easter holidays! Perfect to use up any left over mini eggs – but if I’m honest, it’s more of an excuse to go and buy more mini eggs!

I was really pleased with how the photos turned out for these. I baked them yesterday evening, by which time all the natural light had gone (I think I was being ambitious, thinking I could make, bake and photograph them in the natural light after I got home from work at 6.30pm!)

I decided to experiment with flash, I set up the background, put the finished bake in place, though a little warm (I was eager to get to bed) and got the work. I haven’t really shot any food with flash before, apart from my studio arrangements at university. I will definitely continue to practice with this technique as it means I can photograph and cook more for my blog in the evenings.

Line a square tin (approx. 21cm square) and preheat the oven to 180*c / 160 fan.

Chop the butter and chocolate into cubes and melt together in a bowl placed over lightly simmering water. The mixture may split once melted but don’t worry, this will all be combined together into one delicious mixture. Once melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy, you’ll want it to leave a trail on the surface when you lift the whisk. This should take a few minutes. You will probably want to use an electric whisk or mixer for this other wise you’ll be there all night.

Pour your chocolate and butter into the egg mixture and gently combine together using a spatula.

Add your flour and fold in until well combined.

Add your mini eggs and stir.

Pour into your lined tin and bake for about 30-40 minutes depending on the size of your tin. It’s cooked when you can insert a skewer and sticky cake crumbs are left but no raw cake mixture.

Leave to cool, then drizzle with some extra melted white chocolate and top with crushed mini eggs.

If you can resist, leave in the fridge or somewhere cool overnight to achieve a delicious fudgy texture. In the mean time you can polish off the remaining mini eggs. (Yes, I purposely bought a family sized bag just for the decoration, don’t judge)

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to follow my instagram to keep up to date with my foodie adventures.

The birds woke me up this morning, rather than my alarm. Earlier than I had hoped but I had slept fairly well and decided to get up for breakfast. If only waking up for work was that easy.

I had an amazing breakfast, the hotel is more catered for Europeans, and given the size of the hotel the buffet was extensive. I had some delicious fresh passion fruit, pineapple and pancakes. Then had a roti with an omelette. I sadly can’t stomach curry this early in the morning. It’s not quite the same as having left over take away. The eggs here are so fresh and I wanted to make sure I filled up so I didn’t need lunch.

I wasn’t going to head to the shops this morning, which was organised by our guide – however he mentioned we would visit a batik factory and I knew I couldn’t pass up the photo opportunity. It was extremely interesting seeing the process and how talented these ladies are. I remember doing it at school and finding it quite difficult. I decided to buy 2 silk scarfs, spending a small fortune but I really haven’t spent overly much this holiday, so thought why not?! This experience was on my list of the top things I have done on my trip along with the elephant safari!

I then came back to the hotel and chilled by the amazing pool. I took a dip in the pool – the water was so warm and refreshing! I read a bit and sorted out my batik photos. I am meeting my group in a bit for the final time before having dinner together. I am starving! So can’t wait to eat lots and lots of delicious food.

I may head down to the beach tomorrow evening to see the sunset as I think I may have missed it today. The beach looks okay but isn’t overly beautiful.

Yesterday we left the hotel and headed on a very, very bumpy road to Wilpattu National Park. Here we went on a safari. For me this wasn’t a patch on the previous elephant safari. However we did see some deer, lots of birds, monkeys, land monitors and a crocodile. We also saw a sloth bear and did spot a leopard which the park is known for. However I didn’t really ‘see’ it, only something that moved as it was very far away. Some people got good pictures however I didn’t as my lens wasn’t powerful enough. We then headed back to the hotel.

This morning we headed to some more temples. Three complexes full of stupas, buddhas, baths and temples. As much as they are beautiful I am now dreaming of relaxing on the beach. I did enjoy a king coconut, which I was unsure of but it was quite refreshing!
We stopped for lunch and had a nice buffet, I needed to eat as I was feeling rough from the heat. In one of the stupas we had to take our shoes off (obviously) but the ground was so hot, walking on it gave me goosebumps. I felt a little sick after this but nothing some water, food and an ice cold glass of Diet Coke didn’t fix.

We then headed to our final destination. A three – four hour bus journey to Marawilla, staying at a hotel called Club Palm Bay. I have emailed someone about a taxi to the airport on Saturday so hopefully he will give a good price. He came recommended from Carmen, a girl on my trip. My guide is also trying to organise something for me.

We arrived at our hotel and it is beautiful. I am going to enjoy my time here. I will relax by the pool for the next few days and take a walk down the beach. Just waiting for my case to arrive to me room before going for dinner!

I didn’t sleep all to well, the birds at the hotel were up early and making a lot of noise. We had breakfast which was fairly basic, but after the lovely buffet last night I wasn’t overly hungry. We headed to the Dambula Cave Temple dating back to the seventh-century. This is one of the most well-preserved temple & cave sites in Sri Lanka. There were 4-5 caves lined with beautiful Buddhist paintings and statues. This compared to the Temple of the Tooth Relic was far more interesting and impressive. We also saw the huge gold Buddha.

After this we then headed to a farm. We had a delicious lunch here. The aubergine curry was especially delicious. This farm had around 700 acres of land. We saw buffalo, mangoes, bananas, rice paddies and coconut trees. They grow lots of fruit and vegetables. They have 1000 workers and they get paid 1,000 lkr per day. It was very interesting.

After this we headed on an optional excursion to Minneriya National Park. This wasn’t on the itinerary so I was totally ecstatic at the thought of going to a National Park renound for Elephants. This was something I had considered doing in my free time at the end of the trip, but with a 4 hour journey each way it really wasn’t worth it. There are about 100-150 elephants in this park and we were so lucky that we got to see the majority. Buddhists see elephants as a sacred animal, and this has probably been the highlight of my trip so far.

We went for dinner in a restaurant in Dambulla called Mango Mango, then headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.